Reading articles and blogs written by “progressive” we are beginning to understand their constant call for raising income taxes regardless of the circumstances. Raising income tax rates may or may not increase government revenues, but that is not really their concern. For many “progressives” increasing income tax rates is a way to punish people for earning more than they believe a person should be allowed.

5 Comments:

Cheap shot Enlighten! I know many progressives and, since I can infer no facetious intent from this posting, your representation of their views on income taxes does them a grave injustice:

In fact, they argue that a progressive income tax is the best means of establishing a more equitable distribution of wealth in America. And, the images coming out of New Orleans in the aftermath Katrina are only a dramatic illustration of the need for such a humane measure.

You may have noticed the qualifier "many" was used and not the word "all" in front of the term progressives. So we stand by our statement - for many "progressives" increasing income tax rates is a way to punish people for earning more than they believe a person should be allowed.

Yes, we also know many "progressives" believe the "progressive income tax is the best means of establishing a more equitable distribution of wealth in America." However, when did income redistribution become a legitimate function of our government? By what authority in the constitution do the "progressives" find the right to take property from one person to give to another? Who decides under the "progressive" model what is fair or equitable? Fair or equitable for whom?

Equal treatment under the law and property rights have been the foundation upon which the success of our country has been built. We are slowly allowing both to erode for the long-term detriment to all.

We will also remind our “progressive” friends that they are more than welcome to redistribute their income and wealth to others they believe are more needy or deserving.

Finally, what does raising income taxes or the progressive income system have to do with the victims of a hurricane? Are we to assume you believe if tax rates had been higher fewer people would have been affected by the disaster?

With ALL due respect Enlighten, you seem to be resting your argument on semantic sophistry. Impugning the intellectual cogency of “many” but not “all” progressives is rather like a white racist saying “I don’t hate all black people; many of my best friends are black.”

However, regarding your more substantive points:

Income redistribution is, in fact, a “legitimate function of our government” sanctioned by the same constitutional authority that grants Congress the “power to tax” and provide for the “general welfare of the United States.” (See Article I, sec 8; and the Fifth Amendment “takings” authority, fine-tuned in June by the US Supreme Court in Kelo v City of New London.)

Who decides? The same people who decided that it is “fair and equitable” for our general welfare to spend an obscene amount of our taxes to rebuild Iraq whilst the infrastructure in many of our cities is falling apart and fellow citizens remain mired in extreme poverty.

As for the “Equal treatment under the law and property rights have been the foundation upon which the success of our country has been built” I shall rely on your own reflection to appreciate the fatuousness of this claim; especially in light of the systematic abuse of the civil rights of blacks (and women) that have made a mockery of the Fourteenth Amendment for almost 150 years!

Finally, your cynical enquiry about the correlation between higher taxes and fewer people being affected by disaster is specious on many levels. But I shall suffice to say that a progressive income tax is not intended to help people cope with catastrophic disasters. Rather, it is designed to give sensible government officials as much resources as possible to provide better living conditions for the less fortunate amongst us. That way, yes, when a Katrina strikes they too will have basic resources at their disposal to mount their escape.